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January 12, 2009
Trouble in the Southern Part of Heaven
I am still trying to digest UNC's loss to Wake Forest last night. True, it was close and from the start of the year many felt that this was the moment of maximum danger for UNC on their schedule. True, Wake had a superior performance and a very energetic home crowd.
But you can't help the feeling that there is another element: UNC seems somehow to have lost its way. Its almost as if the whole is now somehow less than the sum of its parts.
The clouds had been gathering before UNC's shocking loss to BC. The Nevada game was a triumph of raw offensive artillery: UNC supplied little defense or finesse. In the BC game the issue was in large part defense: you simply can't allow as many points as UNC did if you are going to be a title contender. Even more startling, however, is the recent offensive performance: UNC has never exactly led the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, but it seems as if the offense now lacks a kind smoothness or fluidity that it possessed earlier in the season.
Part of the problem is clearly at the level of personnel. Ty Lawson seems to have lost some mojo, and when he does not quite work neither does the offense. After a brilliant beginning, Deon Thompson has floundered. Ellington's lack of consistency is beginning to become really tiresome. Finally, the loss of Ginyard (is it time to just try to redshirt him?) has really shown up on the defensive end.
It seems like a national championship is slipping away, at least at the moment.
That would be pretty hard to understand, and I think reasonable observers would be justified in concluding the following about UNC in the last 2-3 years: in the grand scheme of things, little was achieved with a lot of resources.
Posted by dag at January 12, 2009 8:57 AM